Bowl Predictions 2014: TV Schedule, Live Stream Info and Projections
In a mere days, the inaugural College Football Playoff will be set.
So far it appears the committee has entertainment value in mind rather than actual adherence to ranking criteria, but who can complain about a showdown featuring Jameis Winston and the Florida State Seminoles against Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide.
All right then. Believe it or not, the stage for a wealth of other bowl games will be set, too. Dak Prescott and the Mississippi State Bulldogs and others are out of the running but still have one last contest on the year.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
What the committee is hoping will morph into the best stretch of sports this year is set to begin.
2014-15 Bowl Game Schedule
| New Orleans Bowl | Sun Belt vs. MW | New Orleans | Dec. 20 | 11 a.m. | ESPN |
| New Mexico Bowl | MW vs. C-USA | Albuquerque, N.M. | Dec. 20 | 2:20 p.m. | ESPN |
| Las Vegas Bowl | MW vs. Pac-12 | Las Vegas | Dec. 20 | 3:30 p.m. | ABC |
| Potato Bowl | MAC vs. MW | Boise, Idaho | Dec. 20 | 5:45 p.m. | ESPN |
| Camellia Bowl | MAC vs. Sun Belt | Montgomery, Ala. | Dec. 20 | 9:15 p.m. | ESPN |
| Miami Beach Bowl | AAC vs. BYU | Miami | Dec. 22 | 2 p.m. | TBD |
| Boca Raton Bowl | C-USA vs. MAC | Boca Raton, Fla. | Dec. 23 | 6 p.m. | ESPN |
| Poinsettia Bowl | MW vs. Navy | San Diego | Dec. 23 | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Bahamas Bowl | C-USA vs. MAC | Nassau, Bahamas | Dec. 24 | 12 p.m. | ESPN |
| Hawai'i Bowl | C-USA vs. MW | Honolulu | Dec. 24 | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| Heart of Dallas Bowl | Big Ten vs. C-USA | Dallas | Dec. 26 | 1 p.m. | ESPN |
| Quick Lane Bowl | ACC vs. Big Ten | Detroit | Dec. 26 | 4:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| St. Petersburg Bowl | AAC vs. ACC | St. Petersburg, Fla. | Dec. 26 | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| Military Bowl | AAC vs. ACC | Annapolis, Md. | Dec. 27 | 1 p.m. | ESPN |
| Sun Bowl | ACC vs. Pac-12 | El Paso, Texas | Dec. 27 | 2 p.m. | CBS |
| Independence Bowl | ACC vs. SEC | Shreveport, La. | Dec. 27 | 3:30 p.m. | ABC |
| Pinstripe Bowl | ACC vs. Big Ten | Bronx, N.Y. | Dec. 27 | 4:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Holiday Bowl | Big Ten vs. Pac-12 | San Diego | Dec. 27 | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| Liberty Bowl | Big 12 vs. SEC | Memphis, Tenn. | Dec. 29 | 2 p.m. | ESPN |
| Russell Athletic Bowl | ACC vs. Big 12 | Orlando, Fla. | Dec. 29 | TBD | TBD |
| Texas Bowl | Big 12 vs. SEC | Houston | Dec. 29 | 9 p.m. | ESPN |
| Music City Bowl | SEC vs. ACC/Big Ten | Nashville, Tenn. | Dec. 30 | 3 p.m. | ESPN |
| Belk Bowl | ACC vs. SEC | Charlotte, N.C. | Dec. 30 | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Foster Farms Bowl | Big Ten vs. Pac-12 | Santa Clara, Calif. | Dec. 30 | 10 p.m. | ESPN |
| Peach Bowl | TBD | Atlanta | Dec. 31 | 12:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Fiesta Bowl | TBD | Glendale, Ariz. | Dec. 31 | 4 p.m. | ESPN |
| Orange Bowl | ACC vs. SEC/Big Ten | Miami | Dec. 31 | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| Citrus Bowl | Big Ten vs. SEC | Orlando, Fla. | Jan. 1 | 1 p.m. | ABC |
| Outback Bowl | Big Ten vs. SEC | Tampa, Fla. | Jan. 1 | 12 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Cotton Bowl | TBD | Arlington, Texas | Jan. 1 | 12:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Rose Bowl | CFP Semi | Pasadena, Calif. | Jan. 1 | 5 p.m. | ESPN |
| Sugar Bowl | CFP Semi | New Orleans | Jan. 1 | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Armed Forces Bowl | AAC vs. Army | Fort Worth, Texas | Jan. 2 | 12 p.m. | ESPN |
| TaxSlayer Bowl | SEC vs. ACC/Big Ten | Jacksonville, Fla. | Jan. 2 | 3:20 p.m. | ESPN |
| Alamo Bowl | Big 12 vs. Pac-12 | San Antonio | Jan. 2 | 6:45 p.m. | ESPN |
| Cactus Bowl | Big 12 vs. Pac-12 | Tempe, Ariz. | Jan. 2 | 10:15 p.m. | ESPN |
| Birmingham Bowl | AAC vs. SEC | Birmingham, Ala. | Jan. 3 | 1 p.m. | ESPN/2 |
| GoDaddy Bowl | MAC vs. Sun Belt | Mobile, Ala. | Jan. 4 | 9 p.m. | ESPN |
| National Championship | CFP | Arlington, Texas | Jan. 12 | TBD | ESPN |
Live Stream: Visit WatchESPN.com for live streaming of games on ESPN/ABC networks, and check out CBSSports.com for streaming of the Sun Bowl.
Bowl schedule information courtesy of ESPN.com.
CFP Projections
Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Florida State
Rose Bowl: No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 TCU
Championship Bowl (in Arlington, Texas): No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Oregon
Breakdown
Geography seems to reign supreme when it comes to the CFP.
Florida State and Alabama in New Orleans? That sounds oddly familiar to the title game most wanted to see last season.
Yet here things stand. The Seminoles just dropped in the latest batch of CFP standings because, well, they won their 28th consecutive game:
Sounds strange, right?
Truth be told, the eyeball test is a serious portion of the equation whether the committee wants to admit it or not. The Seminoles now have close encounters with a number of teams this year and have won each of their last three contests by no more than five points—all against unranked teams.
Winston has not exactly helped things either, as ESPN Stats & Info points out:
Remember, though, this potential showdown between the first and fourth seeds hinges on Alabama's ability to overcome Missouri and Florida State to fend off Georgia Tech in their respective conference championship games.
Provided that happens, this is one heck of a matchup. Winston and his team's late-game heroics against the nation's No. 5 defense that allows just 16.9 points per game begs for attention.
What swings things in Alabama's favor, though, is the fact that the team has the weapons to exploit a shaky Seminoles defense. Blake Sims has 2,988 yards and 24 touchdowns through the air and leans on Heisman Trophy contender Amari Cooper, who has 103 catches for 1,573 yards and 14 scores.
That same disparity exists in the projected Rose Bowl between the Oregon Ducks and TCU Horned Frogs.
TCU gets in so long as it overcomes two-win Iowa State. The committee has already made it quite clear that a Baylor or Ohio State cannot jump the Horned Frogs despite what would be stronger season-ending wins.
This, of course, sets up must-see offensive fireworks:
Trevone Boykin leads the Horned Frogs with 3,254 passing yards and 26 scores through the air. He is one of the nation's best dual-threat quarterbacks, too, with 598 yards and eight scores on the ground.
That sets up a showdown with Marcus Mariota, who seems to be the Heisman favorite with his 3,470 yards and 36 touchdowns by air and 636 yards and 11 scores rushing.
For Mariota, the next week and change is a way to put to bed any lingering doubts about his tenure with Oregon, which has so often ended in an upset around this time of year. The Ducks are on a tear, though, with only Arizona left to upend before this potential matchup. A new sense of leadership from Mariota has certainly helped things.
“That’s something that we’ve kind of talked about for a few years now in regard to my leadership and how I can use my voice as an influential tool,” Mariota said, per ESPN.com's Chantel Jennings. "For the most part it was me being more assertive. … I really feel that I’ve come a long way in that sense.”
That will prove to be a deciding factor against the Horned Frogs, right along with a defense that has been better as of late, holding four of its last six opponents to 20 points or less.
This in turn sets up a No. 1 vs. No. 2 scenario, not that anyone would complain about an Alabama-Oregon showdown.
The Alabama defense certainly has the wherewithal to slow Mariota and the Ducks, although it is a notion the CFP surely wants to see put to the test.
Perhaps more important is the discussion as to which offense can stay hot on a neutral site. Odds are that goes to the Ducks.
Mariota and Co. have one loss on the season, which wound up coming at the hands of an eventual 10-2 squad the Ducks will encounter again in the Pac-12 title game.
Meanwhile, Alabama has struggled with mobile quarterbacks who enjoy rolling out of the pocket to extend plays. Auburn's Nick Marshall is a good example of this thanks to his 456 passing yards and three scores in the Iron Bowl.
The point is, it is tough to imagine even the Crimson Tide slowing Mariota this season. If the playoff was tomorrow, Oregon takes the whole thing.
Prediction: Oregon 28, Alabama 24
Statistics and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
